Abstract:

Academic performance is understood as the final output of the learning process. In general, the academic performance is an indicator of the student’s learning progress, the skill acquisition, and the ability and knowledge in the subject. Extend researches have focused on determining the factors associated with academic achievement, student academic success and student academic failure.

This study examines the effectiveness of online quizzes to enhance student learning and retention in Distance University. Specific objectives of the study include the following:
i) to examine the student participation in different assessments: test with contribution to the grade (summative quizzes) and quizzes without contribution to the exam (self-evaluation quizzes);
ii) to analyse the student behaviour when they access and complete the task because the work pacing and time management is important in Distance University;
iii) to examine the academic performance conditioned to online quizzes and the number of quizzes attended during the course.

In addition, the study includes some control variables related to student characteristics. The participants are students enrolled in Managerial Accounting for Tourism course at UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia). The results show that both quizzes (summative quizzes and self-evaluation quizzes) are positively associated with academic performance. The study also identifies interesting behavioural patterns when students complete the online quizzes.

Keywords:

Academic performance, Learning virtual platform, Quizzes, Distance University.